With Big Green Teams

A Summary of the Remarkably Successful Winter Season In Which Dartmouth Athletes Won 29 of 31 Contests

Never in recent years have Big Green teams enjoyed such a successful winter season or turned in such excellent records as Dartmouth athletes have registered during the past few months. Participating in a total of 31 contests in four sports, exclusive of skiing, Big Green teams were victorious on 29 occasions and defeated only twice.

And other good news was forthcoming from Hanover last month with the announcement that the Dartmouth football eleven would meet Notre Dame next fall in the first game of a two-year series. Next year's contest will be played at Fenway Park in Boston on October 14, while in 1945 these two elevens will meet at South Bend on October 13.

Announcement of this contest, which promises to be one of the top grid games in the country next fall, has created quite a stir in the football world, and more than 700 fans have already sent ticket applications to the DCAC office.

At this writing both elevens are on even terms inasmuch as the success of either team will depend largely upon the caliber of the material sent to the respective schools under the Navy V-12 program. Both the Notre Dame and Dartmouth squads will be made up largely of V-12 trainees, plus a few civilian athletes.

Coach Earl Brown, who has just completed a successful season as Big Green basketball mentor, will be back again next fall to coach the Indian grid squad. In seven games last season the Indians lost only a slim 7-6 decision to Pennsylvania to rank as one of the top teams in the nation.

Returning to other sports departments, all the Big Green teams continued their winning ways during the past month with only one defeat in 12 contests. The basket- ball team romped to its seventh EIL crown, while the hockey sextet extended its un- beaten streak to 41 contests. The Big Green wrestling team completed the first part of its schedule without defeat, while Harry Hillman's track team finished up on the short end only once, that in a three-cor- nered meet with Army and Cornell at West Point. In addition, the Dartmouth ski team easily won the 34th annual winter sports meet held here early in February.

Looking over the winter sports season as a whole we find plenty of good news to summarize.

Onee again the Big Green basketball team made hoop history as it easily won its seventh straight Eastern Intercollegiate League championship. Coached by Earl Brown, the Indian five won 15 out of 16 contests and went undefeated in league competition.

The only setback suffered by the court cavorters this winter was a 44-30 defeat from Mitchel Field in the third game of the season, while eight wins were registered over EIL opponents and seven against service teams and other top-ranking quintets.

Aud "Beanstalk" Brindley, captain of the Indian hoopsters, was the big gun for the Green this winter. The 6' 4" center tallied 247 points in 16 games for an average of 15.4 points per game, and easily won league scoring honors with 135 points in eight games.

Larry Baxter, Marine transfer from St. John's, was the Indians' high-scoring forward on the right side, while Larry Killick, University of Vermont captain-elect, and Harry Leggat shared first-team honors on the left side. Baxter is one of the most accurate set shot artists to be seen on the Hanover court in many a moon, while Killick is claimed by many to be the flashiest Big Green basketeer in several seasons.

Joe Vancisin and Mo Monahan, both Dartmouth men, performed at the two guard positions, while Joe Fater, former Seton Hall star, saw plenty of reserve duty. Monahan, Dartmouth's chief claimant for All-American football honors last fall, was definitely the most improved member of this year's quintet, while Joe Vancisin showed plenty of fighting spirit to return to basketball after a two-year layoff because of doctor's orders.

All Big Green basketball fans are interested in a comparison between Earl Brown's current champions and the Dartmouth quintets under Ossie Cowles during the past few years. Unfortunately, it is really impossible to make an accurate comparison of these different quintets, inasmuch as basketball conditions today are much different than those of former years, and then too, these respective teams had very little in common.

However, this much can be said. Where smooth team play has been the watchword before, this year's championship quintet was a team of individual stars. Brindley, Killick, Baxter and the others were out- standing individual performers who were molded into a winning club. For taking a group of athletes from several colleges and several court systems and making them into one of the top teams in the country, head coach Earl Brown deserves plenty of credit.

But basketball hasn't been the only sport in the Big Green sports spotlight this season. Under Coach "Hafey" Arthur '34, the Dartmouth skaters turned in seven straight victories to extend their three-year undefeated streak to 41 contests.

In the scoring department the sextet tallied no less than 93 goals in seven contests, while allowing the opposition only si. All games this winter were played against intercollegiate opponents.

The Indians reached their climax in the final game of the season when they swamped Middlebury by the phenomenal score of 30-0 on the Davis Rink. The Big Green icemen scored two victories each over Yale, one of them in a thrilling 7-6 overtime contest, and Colgate, as well as single wins over Williams and West Point.

Once again it was Dick Rondeau, one of the smartest college hockey players of all time, who led the Big Green puck parade. Rondeau, playing his third season as center on the Dartmouth hockey sextet, scored 31 goals and 31 assists in the seven games this year to bring his four-year total at Dartmouth, including freshman year, to 88 goals and 91 assists in 48 games.

Combining with Rondeau on the first line were Jack Cunniff, formerly of Boston College, and Bruce Mather, freshman sensation from Belmont High School. Both Cunniff and Mather, along with goalie Jim Ronayne, were rated as the most improved athletes on this year's sextet by Coach Arthur.

The second line of letterman Phil Fessenden, Bob Merriam from Deerfield, and Wally Stone, captain-elect at Northeastern, also deserve plenty of credit for fine performances.

Charlie Bodley and A1 Foster handled the defense chores in effective manner, while Howie Mac Curdy and Paul Whitney saw reserve duty. Bodley, regular guard on the football eleven this fall, played on the freshman sextet last winter, while Foster, captain of the freshman team two years ago, was a member of the varsity squad last winter.

Bud Vidito, Wakefield High star, and Jim Ronayne shared net-minding duties during the earlier part of the season, but after Vidito was injured in practice, Ronayne took over full time responsibilities in the net.

Like Coach Earl Brown, Coach Arthur deserves high praise for the manner in which he molded this year's hockey sextet into a high-scoring, play-making machine which extended the Big Green undefeated streak and confirmed Dartmouth supremacy in intercollegiate hockey for another season.

Harry Hillman's tracksters competed in only three regular intercollegiate meets during the winter season, and turned in one-sided victories over both Holy Cross and Tufts, but finished second . behind Army in a three-cornered meet with Cornell and the Cadets.

Individual stars on the Big Green track squad have been selected to compete in several of top indoor meets of the winter season, while the Indians are also expected to put up a strong bid for the IC4A championship at New York next month.

Among the top-ranking performers on the Big Green track team during the past season is Captain Don Burnham, Dartmouth's outstanding mile champion and holder of several intercollegiate track and cross-country titles. Clark Judge, regular Dartmouth athlete now in the V-12 Unit here, is also developing into a fine middledistance runner.

Bill Vessie, Marine transfer from Columbia, is holder of the intercollegiate highjump record and in his first performance with the Dartmouth tracksters this winter set a new College record with a leap of six feet 614 inches. Vessie is also the Indians' leading weight man in the 16-pound shotput.

Charlie Grohsberger from NYU is another two-event winner for the Dartmouth tracksters along with Tim Hewlett, letterman from last winter's squad. Grohsberger is the top man in both the 300- and the 600-yard runs, while Hewlett is usually good for two firsts in the 60-yard high and low hurdles.

Under Chief (now Lt. jg) Ted Wilson, the Dartmouth wrestling team turned in five straight victories and was selected to compete in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships at Lehigh University in March. For the first time in several years, the mat sport was revived at Dartmouth, and as a consequence of their excellent performances the Big Green wrestlers have been granted membership in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.

Leader of the mat artists this winter was Captain Pete Fuller, former Harvard and Milton Academy grappler. Wrestling in the 175 division, the Indian leader defeated every opponent on a straight fall, and is Dartmouth's most promising candidate for championship honors.

Art Vorys, rugged tackle on last fall's football eleven, was outstanding in the unlimited division, and Ralph Tyler, coach and captain of Dartmouth's informal wrestling team for the past two years, held top sway in the 155-pound division.

Although several regular performers during the past season will not be on hand to wrestle in the intercollegiates, several experienced grapplers will take over to make the Indians a strong contender for top honors. After Lt. Wilson was transferred to another station, Chief Specialist George Weeks took over his coaching duties.

Difficult traveling conditions, coupled with the lack of strong competition, greatly handicapped the Dartmouth ski team in several meets this fall. However, the Indians schussmen came through with a onesided victory in the feature event of the year, the 34th annual Dartmouth Winter Sports Meet, formerly the famed Winter Carnival competition, to establish themselves as the strongest college ski team in the East this winter.

And so much for Big Green teams in retrospect. Signs of spring are already beginning to creep into the air, and it won't be long now before Jeff Tesreau will be out there again on the baseball diamond ready to launch his 26th year as mentor of Dartmouth baseball nines. Although it seems a long way off right now, another football season is in the offing with plenty of action promised for all Dartmouth grid fans.

And so it goes all around the calendar. But unfortunately with this issue, your reporter of Big Green teams for the past several months must turn in his press pass and sign his final column with the parting wish that editors of this department in the months and years to come will have as many successes and victories to report as I have been able to announce during my tenure.

DARTMOUTH'S UNDEFEATED HOCKEY TEAM which ran the Big Green's 3-year streak to 41 games without defeat. Front row, I. to r., Jim Ronayne USMCR, Bob Merriam USNR, Jack Cunniff USMCR, Capt. Dick Rondeau '44 USMCR, Bruce Mather '47, Phi! Fessenden '45 USNR, Bud Vidito USMCR. Back row—Paul Whitney USMCR, Al Foster '45 USMCR, Sam Packer USNR, Manager Carlisle Spencer '45 USNR, Coach "Hafey" Arthur '34, Wally Stone USNR, Charlie Bodley '46 USMCR, and Howie Mac Curdy USNR.

IVY LEAGUE COURT CHAMPS for 7th straight year and New England choice for the NCAA tourney these are Dartmouth's 1944 basketball lettermen: front row, I. to r., Larry Kilick USMCR, Joe Vancisin '44, Larry Baxter USMCR Capt. Aud Bnndley 46 USMC , on Monahan '45 IJSNR Harry Leaaat USMCR; back row—Manager Ed Linsley 46 USNR, Vin Goering USNR, Joe Fater USMCR, Walt Mercer USMCR, Paul Campbell USNR, and Coach Earl Brown.

FINAL OF THE 135-LB. CLASS in the Dartmouth V-12 Unit's boxing championships pitted Sailor against Marine, with the former getting the decision. In the ring is Chief Specialist P. F. Reed, who teaches boxing and who directed a series of thumping eliminations.